You are Here

“Happiness is enjoying the moment for what it is, not what it could be or should be.”

-Unknown

Unfortunately in our world today it’s nearly impossible for anybody to focus. Whether you are in the classroom, at work–anywhere. Anywhere we go, there are technological distractions grabbing our attention. We spend far too much time staring at screens than our surroundings. Go anyplace and I guarantee you will find almost everyone using their phone, a tablet, or some sort of device. At restaurants, you’ll find families sitting at their tables with their eyes glued on the screen. Selfies are taken at every moment. Audiences in concerts are viewing their favorite artists or shows through their screens instead of looking right in front of them. People are scrolling through their Facebook feeds, Twitter feeds, Instagram feeds, refreshing every few minutes waiting for something new to pop up. When did this all happen?

Rather than engaging with other human beings, we engage with our phones–texting, emails, status updates, photo sharing…We are all living in isolation. There is nothing more authentic than connecting with a human being in real life. We are all so disconnected from each other that we know only what people choose to presents themselves as on social media. There’s so many ways we manipulate ourselves to be likable that is not true to who we all really are. When we physically communicate to another each other, we exposing our true selves and vulnerabilities rather than what we have edited ourselves to be online.

Photographer Eric Pickersgill created a photo series named appropriately, “Removed.” In his photos, you can see how isolated we make ourselves when we’re on these devices. Perhaps this could be a reminder for us to put our phones down. Here’s a couple photos:

Look up from your screen. Look around you. What do you see? What can you hear? It’s such a refreshing feeling to put the phone down and take a deep breath, realizing that you are alive. If you’re with someone; your parents, siblings, friends, whoever, talk to them! Put down your phone and live. Life is way too short to be hiding behind a screen that does not impact your life.